Police Retrace Drug-raid Steps

In Chicago, where police annually serve hundreds of search warrants in narcotics cases-almost always without violence-Wednesday's bloody raid on a suspected drug house in the Woodlawn neighborhood appeared to be an aberration.

But police officials said Thursday that they hope the shootout that left two officers wounded and a suspected drug trafficker dead is not symptomatic of troubling times ahead.

They spoke of increasing resistance to police authority as a supervising sergeant described events leading up to the first-floor shootout at 6038 S. Cottage Grove Ave.

The occupant of the heavily-fortified location, Allen Richards, 28, was fatally wounded after police said he fired on four officers, hitting Richard Peck Jr., 32, and Steven Tyler, 31.

Tyler fell outside, while Peck was downed inside the apartment. He was pulled to safety by Sgt. Peter Dignan, who then killed Richards in an exchange of shots.

"There was no indication of a problem," said Dignan, 47, of the narcotics section of the Organized Crime Division, and a police officer for 28 years. "But you never know what is behind the door. I don't see how we could have done it (raid) any better."

An explanation for the reaction of the suspect was offered by Deputy Chief of Detectives James Maurer, noting that drugs and gang activity are responsible for nearly half of the city's murders.

Police raids, he said, "interfere with a major (drug) market. The better we get at interfering with that market, and its staggering sums of money, the more reluctant (to surrender) some people are going to get."

"The idea is to neutralize all occupants in the apartment so all benefit is on your end," said a police source. "The questions to ask is how vicious is the guy in there and what's he got (weaponry) with him?"

When the FBI serves a murder warrant it is "not unusual for them to cut off the guy's heat and light and send in a dozen agents with police assistance," said a source. "They (FBI) believe in overwhelming use off manpower."

By all accounts, Wednesday's attempt to search for narcotics was conducted in accordance with police procedures.

Five seasoned officers wearing identifying police jackets and hats took part, with two uniformed officers rounding out the team.

Dignan and three others rushed the front door with a battering ram while a fifth guarded the rear door.

They were attempting to serve a warrant obtained hours earlier after a two-day surveillance.

The raid was prompted by a steady stream of people moving in and out of Richards' apartment, which convinced investigators he was dealing drugs.

Indeed, narcotics officers routinely execute anywhere from three to four search warrants for drugs every day in the city. In 1993 a total of 6,000 warranted raids were carried out, records show.